SHELBYVILLE, MI – Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has announced the availability of $120 million in new funding supported by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help tribal communities prepare for the most severe climate-related environmental threats to their homelands. The funding can be used by tribes to plan for, adapt to, or respond to these threats by safely relocating critical community infrastructure.
Secretary Haaland made the announcement during a visit to the Gun Lake Tribe in Michigan, which received $4 million through last year’s Tribal Climate Annual Award for its Electric Infrastructure Implementation Project, to purchase electric vehicles and install solar infrastructure. She was joined by White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden and Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.
“As I’ve visited Indigenous communities across the country, I have seen firsthand how pressing the climate crisis is for Indigenous peoples and the urgency with which we must move to honor our obligations to tribal nations,” said Secretary Haaland. “This investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is a critical step toward further enabling tribes to make thoughtful and proactive decisions about how to protect their people, their homelands and sacred sites, and critical community infrastructure.”
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring that we are strong partners with tribal nations, and we are proud of these investments to address critical climate resiliency needs of tribes across the country,” said White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden.
The funding announcement is part of a nearly $560 million investment for tribal climate resilience programs achieved through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and annual appropriations. In addition to significantly boosting the BIA’s Tribal Climate Resilience program, the Department launched a first-ever Voluntary Community-Driven Relocation Program at the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit with an initial $135 million commitment to advance relocation and planning efforts for tribal communities severely impacted by climate-related environmental threats. The funding is part of more than a collective $50 billion invested by the President’s Investing in America agenda to advance climate adaptation and resilience across the nation, including in communities that are most vulnerable to climate impacts. The funding also supplements additional actions President Biden announced to protect communities from the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, including from flooding, extreme heat, wildland fire, and drought.
“This historic investment reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to fulfilling the federal government’s trust responsibility of protecting tribes’ ability to exist in their homelands in the face of a changing climate,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “This funding provides tribes with the resources they need to develop and implement proactive strategies for their communities to protect homes and infrastructure, and if necessary, to relocate to safer ground.”
For more information, visit BIA’s Tribal Climate Resilience Annual Awards Program webpage or email [email protected].
